Chris Harrison blogs 'The Bachelor' week 2

Welcome back, Bachelor Nation! We’re only one week in and sparks are already flying, and I don’t just mean at the demolition derby! In recent years, The Bachelor and Bachelorette have started off with two smaller group dates and one solo date in the first week, but this year we decided to switch things up and let Arie have two solo dates and one large group date. As you can imagine, there are advantages and disadvantages to both ways of doing things. If you have two smaller group dates, you get more time with every single person, but if you have two one-on-one dates, you get to know people more intimately faster, and can make decisions with more information. The two smaller group dates also make the cocktail party at the end of the week more relaxed, as everyone has had more time throughout the week. As you can tell, all of this is really complicated and just like everything in love, there’s no “right way.” You can only do your best and try to find the person you’ve been looking for your whole life.

And that’s exactly what Arie is looking for: The person he’s been waiting for his whole life. Arie is a race car driver, but really he’s also a huge fan of anything with a motor, so when we started the season he asked us to put him behind the wheel of as many vehicles as possible, so obviously a motorcycle date was perfect for him to get his journey to love started. Becca K. got the first date and as you can see they had a tremendous amount to talk about. Obviously, Becca K. got some great gifts that day, from earrings to shoes (and she got to keep them!) but the date didn’t really start until the two of them got to sit down and just talk to each other. Becca shared a lot about her life and so did Arie. By the end of the night I think Arie, maybe for the first time, was really hopeful that this kind of dating would work for him again. The last time he found love was with Emily, so it only feels right that the next time he finds love (and hopefully the last) will be with us as well.

Photo: ABC

The second one-on-one date went to Krystal and it was a really ambitious day, even for The Bachelor. Taking a quick day trip to Scottsdale and back, and making it home in time for a romantic dinner and a concert makes for a very long day and night, but it was absolutely worth it. It was really important to Arie to involve his day-to-day life in all of this. Introducing his family, his home, and his life to the women was really important. Krystal may have a complicated relationship with her family, but she is open and looking to build her own family. After her first date with Arie, it’s honestly looking like that may be on its way to happening.

The group date was a doozy. I don’t think we have ever put together a more complex group date than this one. Arie is a driver and this date was a perfect way for him to show off some of his skills. The women, other than Annaliese, were all unbelievably excited to get in their cars and start bashing things. And even Annaliese, once she got behind the wheel, treated the car like a bulldozer, plowing into as many other cars as possible. Every single safety precaution you can imagine was taken, but there were still quite a few bumps and bruises the next day, but everyone was just so excited to have had the chance to participate. Seinne really came out of nowhere and took the trophy for the day. But it wasn’t her driving, it was her personality that got her the rose at night. I expect we’ll be seeing a lot of Seinne over the coming weeks.

At the cocktail party, things started to take a turn. Obviously, because of the size of the group date, many women didn’t have enough time with Arie, so tensions were running high. The jealousy doesn’t really get started until people begin developing feelings, and after the first week, the feelings are starting to grow quickly. Next week, things are going to be even crazier than ever and the bubbling tension beneath the surface is finally going to boil over. Do not miss it!